david bruce

David Bruce

The North Wind was a Woman. Dawn Upshaw, Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center

The North Wind was a Woman

A Bird in Your Ear Scenes 2-6

Metropolis Ensemble, The Groanbox Boys (Michael Ward-Bergeman, Corentin Seznic, Paul Clifford)

Groanbox

The last four minutes of Prince Zal and the Simorgh 
Narrated by Sally Pomme Clayton
Text by Sally Pomme Clayton
Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and City University London

Prince Zal and the Simorgh - extract

Avi Avital (mandolin) and the Dover Quartet perform David Bruce's Cymbeline for Mandolin and String Quartet

Cymbeline is a new work for Mandolin and String Quartet, written specially for mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital. The title is an old Celtic word meaning Lord of the Sun. I think the idea of the piece being about the sun emerged out of the colours of the string quartet and the mandolin together. Although I don't think of myself as a synaesthetic person I kept having a strong sense of the colour gold in the early sketches for the piece. The mandolin itself has always seemed to me to create a 'golden' sound, and when combined with the warmth of the strings it seems now obvious that I should drawn towards something warm and golden.

The sun was one of the first objects of worship and it has been surmised that the idea of a holy trinity (found not just in Christianity, but in numerous earlier religions) relates to the three distinct positions of the sun - sunrise (=father), noon (=son), and sunset (=spirit). Sunrise is 'the father of the day'; midday represents the fullness of energy, the son; and sunset is a time for contemplation and reflection - the spirit. To me, these three states represent not just "father, son and spirit" but also perhaps, the reflection upon an action about to happen (sunrise), the action itself (noon), and the reflection on the action that happened (sunset).

Cymbeline accordingly is in three movements, with two contemplative outer movements surrounding an energetic central movement. I see the piece as a contemplation of our relationship with this firey giver of life, whose significance to us is often overlooked in the modern world, but who still really does rule over us all.

1. Sunrise
2. Noon
3. Sunset

Cymbeline by David Bruce for Mandolin and String Quartet

Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1970, David Bruce grew up in England and now enjoys a growing reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, his third Carnegie Hall commission Steampunk (2011), follows Piosenki (2006), and Gumboots (2008) which have both gone on to be widely performed by leading ensembles around the world. His song-cycle The North Wind was a Woman was commissioned by the Lincoln Center for Dawn Upshaw for the gala opening of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center's 2009 season. In the UK, Bruce has a new chamber opera in development with the Opera Group and the Royal Opera House's ROH2, based on Philip Pullman's story The Firework Maker's Daughter. He was also recently selected as one of 20 leading composers chosen to represent the UK as part of the Cultural Olympiad 20x12 initiative.

Bruce's music draws inspiration from folk-traditions from around the world. He particularly enjoys collaborating with musicians who have strong connections with both classical and folk/world traditions, such as accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman, mandolinist Avi Avital and clarinettist David Orlowsky. In August 2011 Bruce will be collaborating with world-renowned violinist Daniel Hope, the David Orlowsky Trio and cellist Vincent Segal on a new co-commission inspired by Irish folk music from the Mecklenberg-Vorpommern festival, Germany and the Savannah Festival, USA. In 2012 he will be collaborating with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project on a new commission. Bruce also enjoys close working relationships with some of the finest musicians of the younger generation including Ensemble ACJW; harpist Bridget Kibbey; the grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble in New York; Chroma in the UK; and Art of Elan in San Diego (whose commission The Eye of Night was premiered in Jan 2011 and will shortly be recorded).

Bruce's work in opera has also attracted considerable attention. A series of short operas for Tete a Tete in London culminated in the Genesis Foundation commission Push! (2006) which was Critic's Choice for 2006 in both The Telegraph and Classical Music Magazine and received universal critical acclaim. In 2008, Dawn Upshaw instigated the commission for his one-act opera A Bird in Your Ear (2008) for Bard College, NY. After its successful premiere the opera has had performances by New York City Opera as part of the 2009 VOX festival; as a finalist in the National Opera Association's Chamber Opera competition 2008; and with students at NYU. The New York Times said the opera, "rich with imagined folk tunes, undulant accompaniment patterns and vibrant choral writing, is delicate, tartly tonal and lucidly orchestrated."

Bruce's music has attracted numerous awards and prizes, including the Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize (2008) and the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Competition (1994). He studied at Nottingham University, the Royal College of Music, London, (with Tim Salter and George Benjamin); and completed a PhD in Composition at King's College, London (1995-9), under the supervision of Sir Harrison Birtwistle.

Complementing his work as a composer, Bruce runs the music and technology company Red Balloon Technology Ltd whose sites include the popular sheet music site 8notes.com and the composers' site CompositionToday. 

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